Oct. 27--FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- In a microcosm of the cruel joke this Bears season has become, defensive end Lamarr Houston suffered a potentially serious knee injury Sunday at Gillette Stadium celebrating a sack late in a game his team trailed by 25 points.
Houston sacked Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo before setting the Week 8 standard for stupidity, skipping three steps before his right knee buckled upon landing. You could chastise Houston to act like he has been there before but, at least in 2014, he hadn't. Tellingly, it was the disappointing free-agent pass rusher's first sack of the year.
"I probably shouldn't have celebrated while they're blowing us out," Houston acknowledged with a chuckle after the 51-23 pounding by the Patriots. "But it happens."
It happens to players who lack discipline and lose focus. It happens to teams lacking leadership, an identity and, for the second straight game, direction. It happens because coach Marc Trestman, in striving to create a culture of acceptance, has enabled a roster full of guys struggling to define accountability.
Asked about Houston's silly sack dance, Trestman feebly repeated to two separate questions: "I'm very disappointed for him."
What about being disappointed in him? Houston hurt his team, himself and the organization that guaranteed him $14.9 million in the offseason by showing off.
If last week's loss to the Dolphins was unacceptable, this one was unwatchable.
The Bears gave up a franchise-record 38 points in the first half when their mistakes permitted the Patriots to score three touchdowns in 57 seconds. They surrendered at least 50 points for the second time in the last 10 games. They helplessly watched Patriots quarterback Tom Brady complete 30 of 35 passes for 354 yards and five touchdowns without an interception -- his second-most accurate game -- and tight end Rob Gronkowski ruin the day for so many Grabowskis.
They tried measuring up against one of the NFL's premier franchises and fell miserably short.
Alas, this never was competitive. By the time Patriots wide receiver Brandon LaFell caught a 9-yard TD pass to make it 31-7 late in the second quarter, the Bears defense had fallen and couldn't get up.
Can the Bears as a team?
"We have to decide what we want to do in the second half," quarterback Jay Cutler said. "Do we want to just pack it in and hover around .500, or do we want to use the talent in that locker room to try to make a run for this?"
To call this rock bottom might be optimistic for a team headed south quicker than a college kid at spring break. But Sunday represented the low point of the Trestman Era.
The four-touchdown difference exposed the league's most underachieving offense and undermanned defense, but also raised questions that go beyond the Bears' 53-man roster. A loss this bad leaves a mark, shakes internal confidence and forces everyone at Halas Hall to re-evaluate everything, top to bottom. At least it should.
When general manager Phil Emery appears Monday at his first news conference since Aug. 5, he cannot publicly endorse anything about this season -- not the head coach he hand-picked over Bruce Arians, his draft picks, his free-agent signings, nothing.
A loss this bad leaves nothing off limits as the Bears begin an introspective open week. Bench a quarterback. Fire a coordinator. Fine a star for loafing or showboating. Do something. Examine every out-of-the-box possibility. How could things get worse?
The Bears have begun an early hibernation and badly need something to wake them up. Rationalizing a 3-5 start and reducing Sunday's embarrassment to just one loss changes nothing -- and the Bears must change something. Immediately.
For many Bears fans looking ahead, monitoring 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh's rocky relationship with his employer sounds more promising than watching the NFC North race. Eight games in, the Bears' midseason form is disfigurement.
"We're not paid to play the games, we're paid to win the games," Trestman said. "We got outcoached and outplayed."
Don't forget outworked, though that suggestion rankled touchy wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall took exception being asked about pulling himself out for a fourth-and-10 play with the score 45-7 after he ran a long pass route on third down.
"I don't win answering that one," Marshall said. "I thought we all fought hard to the end. If a player says he's fatigued then he's not in shape. I love football. I want to play. So you can take that. I don't give up. I'm a fighter. I've always been a fighter. Whatever you're trying to refer to, it's wack to me. That's wack, bro. I probably came out six times this game. You want to be on the field every single play, but it's impossible to do that. That's a wack question, bro. You know me."
Chicago keeps learning more every Sunday. And after this memorable fall in New England, we still know nothing about these Bears -- except they are closer to unraveling than they are to making the playoffs.
dhaugh@tribune.com
Twitter @DavidHaugh
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